On Friday 64 teams will begin the journey that leads to Omaha. Only eight teams will make it to the college baseball Mecca.
While baseball is an impossible sport to predict, I think there are a few teams this year that are pretty much locks for Omaha. Below I’ll give you my predictions for each round, and who I think will reach Omaha and take home the trophy in 2018.
Round of 64 – Regionals
I don’t foresee many surprises in the first round, but again, this is baseball. I’m sure we’re going to see our fair share of upsets along the way.
Florida
Auburn
Texas Tech
Georgia
Arkansas
South Carolina
Texas A&M
Ole Miss
Stanford
UConn
Clemson
Florida State
North Carolina
South Florida
Minnesota
Oregon State
Round of 16 – Super Regionals
If the regionals go the way I think, we are set up to have some fantastic matchups in the super regionals.
Florida
Texas Tech
Arkansas
Ole Miss
Stanford
Florida State
South Florida
Oregon State
Omaha – College World Series
Essentially there are four teams I have been high on all year that I would be absolutely shocked if they don’t advance to the College World Series. Those four teams are Florida, Oregon State, Stanford, and Arkansas. Those four teams, to me, are the deepest teams in the country.
Oregon State and Stanford have the easiest road to Omaha, and it will be a complete shock if they don’t reach the College World Series.
Florida and Arkansas will both have to go up against SEC opponents, based on my projections, so you never know what may happen there.
The way the bracket was set up, whether it was on purpose or not, we’re essentially guaranteed not to have an all-SEC final this year.
Arkansas and Ole Miss have flip-flopped all year as the second-best team in the country, so that opening round game in the College World Series will be huge. The semi-final for that side of the bracket will likely come down to Florida and the winner of that first Ole Miss-Arkansas game.
From the other side of the bracket, again, I would be shocked if it doesn’t come down to Stanford and Oregon State. But Florida State certainly has the ability to make a run.
Finals Prediction
After the 2017 season ended I said there was a very good chance we could see Oregon State and Florida in the championship game in 2018. At the beginning of this year, I picked Oregon State to win it all.
The Beavers have somehow flown under the radar this year, but I still think they are the best team in the country top-to-bottom. I’m sticking with my preseason prediction and picking Oregon State to win the 2018 College World Series over Florida.
Winner: Oregon State
